A Postmodern Orthodoxy

Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s The Black Swan contains, among its other observations, an fascinating illustration about how possessing more data without having the capability to understand it can cause us to make what are poorer decisions than what we would have made if we didn’t have the data in the first place. The context in which Taleb works (and, consequently, the example that he gives in his book) is within the context of the stock market, and here is how it works:

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In the following discussion, I’m going to attempt to tie environmentalism to conservative political ideology. I’m sort of making this up, here, folks, so if there are critiques, or if you think I’m just full of beans, I’d appreciate some feedback. Before we get started, though, let me explain what I mean by “conservative.”

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